The Road to Recovery
by pleasenomorefeels
Summary: When Harry is betrayed by those he trusted with his life, he is taken by those who love him to the only place that will be safe. To Romania with Charlie. What happens is not what anyone expected...
1. Chapter 1

The Road to Recovery Chapter 1

A/N Ok, this is a kind of set up for the rest of the story, explaining the situation re Voldy, who's dead etc. Not too much happens but it's essential if I want you to understand the rest! Rate and review if you want – feedback would be appreciated...enjoy!

Disclaimer; I own nothing. At all. Depressing, I know :(

When Harry awoke he had no idea where he was, or how he had gotten where ever he was. Panicking, thinking that perhaps he had been kidnapped by some of the few remaining fugitive Death Eaters, he went to sit up, but was stopped by a stabbing pain in his chest. Memories flooded back, floods of pain, anger and disappointment.

His uncle, standing over him with his belt raised, Dudley, kicking him over and over, his aunt hitting him over the head with a frying pan. The last thing he remembered was lying on the floor of his room, too weak to raise himself onto the bed. And then nothing. And now he was...in a hospital it seemed. But small and homey, rather like the infirmary at Hogwarts. Another small moment of panic, but no, definitely not Hogwarts, the ceiling was dark wood, with lighter beams crisscrossing around, completely different to the vaulted stone ceilings at the school. So where was he?

At this point he heard raised voices outside the door to his left. A woman with a strong accent – Eastern European? – was firmly talking to someone else, female, British accent. Hermione, his brain supplied. Hermione was pleading and he heard the words; 'No...needs rest...no visitors'. After an exaggerated sigh, to argument stopped and he heard Hermione storm away. A hospital, probably somewhere in Eastern Europe then. But what was he doing here, wherever here was?

A nurse entered, he assumed it was the woman who had been arguing with Hermione. She looked shocked that Harry was awake, but quickly recovered, saying,

'Ah Mr Potter, we didn't expect you to awake for quite a while, how are you feeling?'

Harry, still very confused, asked the first question that came to mind – who are you?

'My name is Georgiana, and I am the head medi-witch here.' Seeing Harry's look of confusion, she elaborated, 'here being the Romanian National Dragon Reserve'. That explained it, 'You were brought here last week at the request of one of our employees and his family. They said you would not be safe in England – you remember?'

He didn't but he was beginning to piece together a possible timeline of events. He knew that not long after the beginning of the holidays, he had written letters, to Dumbledore, Sirius and Mrs Weasley, regarding the intensification of the abuse he was suffering at the hands of his relatives. His reply from Sirius (with comments from Remus now and again) was exactly what he was expecting; 'how could they do this', 'I'm coming to get you', 'they won't get away with this' – indignant, angry and overprotective. His replies from both Mrs Weasley and Dumbledore however, were less than encouraging. Although he knew that Dumbledore had never cared for him, that he had just been used, as a weapon and a figurehead for the light cause, the accusations that he was making things up just to get attention hurt, and he was disappointed by how little his headmaster knew him after five years as his mentor and role model. Once he had read Dumbledore's reply, he was expecting the contents of his surrogate mothers letter to be bad, but not to the degree that they were. She too accused him of wanting attention, but going as far as to say that 'now Voldemort is gone, I knew you'd do something like this to get back in the limelight' cut him to the core. She knew, as much as anyone, how much he hated his fame, that he hadn't chosen it, instead having it thrust upon him from a young age. He knew now that Mrs Weasley was too enamoured by Dumbledore's grandfatherly facade to believe him, so he deigned not to reply.

A week or so later, he received another letter from Sirius and Remus, saying that they would find a way to 'break him out' despite Dumbledore telling them he was lying. It also contained reassurances that the rest of the Weasley's, (he had become close to the twins, Bill and Charlie after Ron and Arthur died during the final battle the previous Christmas), were firmly on his side and were going to help with the jailbreak. Somehow, his uncle had found the letters, and security increased on his room again. The bars were back on the window, and the door was bolted day and night. Panicking about his safety Harry had written pleadingly to everyone he felt he could trust, only to receive a reply from Dumbledore of all people, saying that his mail was now being moderated so that he 'couldn't spread his lies further into those who had trusted him' and that the wards around the house had been strengthened so not to expect to be rescued. His hopes were dashed, and soon, he began to doubt that September first would come quickly enough for him. He wondered if he would survive the summer.

He remembered the final beating he had received, presumably before he was brought here. Afterwards, he had curled up on the floor, pain everywhere, and closed his eyes, hoping beyond hope that a miracle would occur and he would find himself somewhere else in the morning. He assumed that sometime during the night, his adopted family had found a way to break through the wards around number 4, Privet Drive, (almost certainly with the help of Bill), and had taken him away. But why Romania? Although it made some sort of sense as it was where Charlie lived and worked, Grimmauld Place was both closer and more accessible, though both locations were very secure.

Georgiana had left again, after hearing more noise outside, probably to tell everyone that he still needed rest, although he wanted to see everyone and ascertain exactly what ha d happened, and what the plans for the immediate future were. More arguing outside and he could distinguish different voices from their tones – Hermione pleading, Sirius angry, Remus and Bill cool and collected and the twins flirty. But their words fell on deaf ears until a deep, soothing voice reassured Georgiana that they would only be a minute and that they just wanted to put their fears to rest. The door opened slowly with the nurse reiterating 'five minutes. Not a second more!' Charlie entered first, smiling smugly at his success in appeasing the medi-witch, Bill and the twins following close behind, and finally...

'BAMBI!' Sirius yelled, running towards his godson.


	2. Chapter 2

The Road to Recovery Chapter 2

A/N This story takes place during Harry's sixth year at Hogwarts, (at the moment summer after fifth). Just to clarify. Also, the first few chapters will be third person – easier to do when I have to explain all the background etc but when we get down to the part where stuff actually happens then it will alternate between Harry's and Charlie's POV Thanks for all your reviews, they're really motivating me to write faster! Review if you want – feedback is appreciated! Enjoy...

Disclaimer; I own nothing. At all. Depressing, I know :(

'BAMBI!' Sirius yelled, running towards his godson.

Harry laughed; this was typical Sirius, hyperactive and overprotective. He was as always, using the embarrassing nickname that had been adopted a few years ago, the rationale being that seeing as James was a stag, which made Harry a fawn, or Bambi.

Fred and George grinned – 'it's good to see...', '...you're in such...', '...good spirits...', '...littlest brother', they chuckled, casually leaning against the wall. Harry's smile faded slightly – having been reminded of the situation that caused his presence in Romania, it seemed slightly inappropriate to laugh, as he didn't know the full story as of yet. Noticing, Remus was quick to begin explaining what had happened.

'Well, you know that when we first tried to get you out, we found that Dumbledore had strengthened the wards around Privet Drive, so it was impossible for us to see or communicate with anyone inside. Although we tried to get through them, and we probably would have succeeded, he had alerts on them, and so any attempt to break the wards notified him immediately.'

'The idiot turned up and threatened to take us to the Wizengamot if we didn't stay away from you, and we figured we wouldn't do much use in custody...'

'...so we stayed away and made a plan!' The twins added, angry at their Headmasters interference.

'It wasn't as if we would have actually been charged' Remus clarified, seeing Harry's look of worry, 'I mean, he was the one ignoring child abuse, and stopping anyone helping, but it would have taken time to overthrow his decision, so we stayed at Grimmauld and started...'

'Wait, why were you all at Grimmauld not the Burrow?' Harry asked, confused why the twins would stay away from their mothers fabulous cooking longer than necessary.

'Ah...well...'

'...our darling mother may have...'

'...upon finding out we actually believed you...'

'...slightly...'

'...sort of...'

'Spit it out you two!' Grinned Bill

'Well, she kicked us out' the twins blurted out in unison. Harry was shocked. He knew that Molly was angry at him, but he had no idea that it was this bad.

'What about you guys?' Harry addressed Bill and Charlie.

Charlie blushed slightly and Bill looked awkward before the twins said mockingly,

'Spit it out you two!'

Laughing, the two eldest Weasley children relaxed and admitted that they hadn't actually been welcome home for a while now owing to the fact that after the war both came out to their mother, feeling that they shouldn't have to hide after seeing how uncertain life could be during the course of the war. Needless to say, Molly hadn't been happy and had done all but legally disown her two sons.

'Not that the wizarding world isn't accepting, as a whole, I mean, Ginny was actually thrilled, there are just a few, like Mum, who hold rather muggle views about the whole thing. I don't understand it personally, I mean, it wouldn't be like we couldn't give her grandkids or anything...' Harry zoned out the rest of Charlie's rambling speech, his mind reeling. Charlie was gay? The first item on Harry's new information list. He knew that Bill was – having run into him sneaking into Hogwarts one night, Bill had admitted to his illicit relationship with none other than Draco Malfoy, a revelation which had helped massively in Harry and Draco burying the hatchet so to speak, a process which had begun after Draco had changed sides after Voldemort gained a body, becoming an invaluable spy for the Order. But Charlie? He had had not idea, although he really didn't know the second oldest Weasley all that well, and considered him more of a friend rather than a brother, unlike his siblings. Second item on the agenda; Charlie's comment 'it isn't like we couldn't give her grandkids' – now that sounded a lot like he was saying that men could get pregnant...but that wasn't possible surely? But then again, this was magic, and a hell of a lot of other, seemingly impossible, things had happened over the last five years. Ok, not so weird then, although it was odd thinking that he could get pregnant...Third point – Mrs Weasley is a homophobe. Actually not all that surprising considering how narrow-minded she seemed to be regarding some issues.

'Harry! Earth to Bambi!' Sirius cooed teasingly.

'Sorry, just thinking...' Harry replied, still slightly shocked at the news, 'what about Ginny though?'

It turned out that Ginny had been clever enough to remain neutral over Harry in the eyes of her mother, although she sent her love and get well wishes.

'Very clever, anyway...so you were making a plan at Grimmauld?'

'Ah yes, the great escape!' Sirius exclaimed, provoking a smile from Harry.

The plan had involved getting Bill over from Egypt, where he worked as a curse breaker, to help disable the wards as quickly and effectively as possible, to give them enough time to get in, get Harry and his trunk and other belongings, and get out, all before Dumbledore arrived. Difficult but not impossible, as it turned out. They got Charlie over from Romania because although Grimmauld Place was securely warded Dumbledore was keyed into the wards, and had cast a charm so that he couldn't be removed from them. Besides there, the dragon reserve was the safest place for Harry at the time. Everyone was worried what would happen if Dumbledore was to get hold of Harry again.

Soon the twins decided they'd better be leaving – Hermione and Angelina had said they would cover for them but they didn't trust that they weren't being watched.

'Oh,' Fred said, turning as he was leaving, 'Hermione says she'll be by tomorrow'. After Harry thanked him for passing on the message the twins left to go and see their girlfriends. Bill left soon after to find Draco who was currently in hiding with his mother and Snape, as his father was one of the few remaining Death Eaters not in Azkaban.

That left Sirius, Remus and Charlie. They chatted amicably for a while, until Harry started feeling tired – apparently all the excitement only hours after waking up wasn't such a good idea. His godfathers left, with promises of Honeydukes chocolate next time they visited. Charlie was quiet for a few moments, and a slightly awkward silence ensued.

'So...' Harry ventured. Charlie looked up, slightly dazed, he had, apparently, been day dreaming.

'Sorry about that' he apologised, never quite meeting Harry's eyes. He shifted nervously, his behaviour confusing Harry greatly. Although he didn't know Charlie as well as he did the other Weasleys they had been alone together before and had been able to hold a normal conversation. He didn't know what was up with him. Finally meeting his eyes, Charlie turned, blurted a goodbye and practically ran out the door.

His odd behaviour hurt Harry more than he would have expected, especially as he didn't know him all that well. Although he figured maybe his emotions were a bit out of synch at the moment from all the potions. He didn't normally react the way he had been to Charlie during the course of the afternoon...

Little did he know, there was a dragon handler sitting, unusually flustered, outside the infirmary, thinking exactly the same thing about him.


	3. Chapter 3

The Road to Recovery

A/N Ok, this is the chapter where everything has the potential to go horribly wrong...so please forgive me if it does! Anyway, I hope you enjoy, and feedback is appreciated!

Disclaimer; I don't own anything! If I did, then the books would have ended completely differently!

Harry's POV

When I awoke the next morning I almost felt back to normal – and I told Georgiana so. She agreed that everything was looking much better, all thanks to magical healing, and it was decided upon that I could be released later in the day. Hermione had come for a quick visit, but the twins suspicions that they were being followed had been confirmed when Dumbledore turned up in their shop that morning, asking after their whereabouts the previous day. Due to this they only wanted to visit for a small time encase their trackers managed somehow to trace them after realising they were nowhere to be found. All in all it was a rather boring day, just sitting around, for the most part with nothing to do, but I was cheered by the fact that that afternoon I would be able to see what was going to become my temporary home.

When Charlie arrived at around four o'clock I was practically bouncing with excitement. Childish I know, but I had never been anywhere outside the UK before, and so far all I had seen of Romania was the inside of a cosy, but boring, infirmary. I felt I'd spent enough time in those at Hogwarts. He grinned when he saw my excitement, one of his freckled cheeks forming a dimple, his smiled slightly crooked. But his eyes were guarded. I knew something had changed since I'd last seen him. He was acting like his normal self, smiling, joking. But it never reached his eyes. Blame it on the hero complex if you will, but I was determined to find out what was bothering him, and to make it better. Despite my defeat of Voldemort I still had a thing about people helping me (risking themselves or their happiness as I saw it) and I always felt as if I had to give something back. And that's what I was going to do. I was going to help Charlie Weasley...and maybe understand a bit more about him along the way.

Walking out of what Charlie called 'the main block' which apparently contained the mess hall, infirmary and various offices, floo rooms and apparition points, we walked through lush fields, penned in by mountains topped with mist. The air was warm and heavy, adding to the feeling on being trapped. But it was good, because for the first time in so long, I felt safe. Walking next to Charlie was, in a strange way, comforting. I knew that I didn't feel the same brotherly feelings towards him as I did his siblings, but for some reason I still felt comforted. At one point during our light conversation, I looked at him, catching him looking at me, seemingly lost in thought. He blushed and looked away, that action inducing a blush of my own.

Each dragon handler lived in a small cottage, two bedrooms, kitchen, bathroom and a small living room. They were dotted around the edge of the reserve; Charlie's nestled in the shadow of a mountain, at the edge of a deep forest. It was, in my opinion, perfect. It reminded me of the Burrow, a thought which sent a pang of sadness through me, but I shook the feeling off. I was here now, I was safe, and I was pretty sure I was going to be happy.

Charlie's POV

The walk home seemed infinitely long, although it seemed that Harry was enjoying the scenery. I was beautiful, although after nearly seven years here it didn't have quite the effect it used to. I sunk deep into thought...wondering about the revelation I had had the night before, and the events leading up to it.

Flashback

The first time I met Harry Potter. It was his first year, (I was picking up an illegal dragon), and I was amazed that the boy who had defeated You-Know-Who was so small, so delicate. But then he looked up and I could imagine those brilliant green eyes lit up with fire and passion, and I understood what my youngest brother had meant when he said that this boy was a formidable enemy. I admired him, and secretly wished him luck with his unwanted fame.

The second time, we actually had a chance to have a conversation, and I saw those eyes light over his love of Quidditch, the passion burning them the emerald I had imagined three years ago. He had grown, although he was still skinny and rather short. But it was obvious he didn't need protecting, and yet, inexplicably, I felt myself wanting too. After the dark mark was conjured, I was overly angry that Crouch had dared accused this boy – the one who had saved us from You-Know-Who – of being in league with the Death Eaters. I dismissed it as brotherly instinct but I had a nagging suspicion that it was more than that.

The Tri-Wizard tournament, first task. I stayed, not originally to watch, but so I could help if the dragons got out of control. And the first three times, I watched the dragons, checking to make sure they weren't getting too worked up. And then Harry came on. My eyes were immediately drawn to him, his fear palatable. With the rest of the crowd I held my breath, waiting for his broom to arrive. And suddenly, he didn't seem nervous anymore. As he took to the air he visibly relaxed and by the end he actually seemed to be enjoying himself. Watching him fly was the most beautiful thing. It seemed so natural, and I knew however good I had been whilst at school, Harry was something else. I think that that was the moment whatever I had been feeling turned into a crush. But I didn't realise until much later...

The next time I saw Harry was under worse circumstances. The war had started, and although Voldemort was weak, he was gaining followers and wreaking havoc throughout the country. I had come home to help with the Order, and I witnessed Harry arguing with my mother and Dumbledore over whether he should be allowed to join. His request was denied, and although I disagreed with the decision, it almost felt as if it was all ok, because I had seen his eyes lit with dazzling fire again, and it was as beautiful as ever. I saw lots of Harry over the course of the next few months, if only for a few minutes at a time. With the continued interaction, my feelings grew, until I finally had to accept I didn't see him the same way my siblings did. When Harry and Ginny broke up I breached the subject with her. She mentioned that she suspected Harry was gay, but that he 'wasn't ready to accept that yet'. That admission prompted an unexpected warmth inside me. The darkest part of my brain, the one not fazed by age differences or current situations whispered 'maybe you have a chance'. I locked that part of me deep inside and tried to forget.

I had managed, until yesterday. Those feeling had returned full force, and back in my room I finally admitted to myself that I had a full-blown crush on Harry Potter. The saviour of the wizarding world. A guy ten years my junior, on whom I didn't even have solid proof of his sexuality. It was doomed to fail, and yet I was determined to try.

End Flashback

Realised I had been daydreaming, whilst staring at Harry; I blushed and looked away, as if he was psychic and could tell what I had been thinking. I hoped he was more unobservant than usual due to the drugs. That he hadn't noticed my strange behaviour. Because if he did, he would most likely put two and two together, and get four. I would be found out before I had even worked out my plan of attack.

A/N Thanks for reading and I hope my first person attempts weren't too terrible!


	4. Chapter 4

**The Road to Recovery Chapter 4**

**A/N **Just to warn you, this is where there would start being warnings about slash etc...however, I'm not going to write any of that - I read it but I feel kind of awkard writing it so I'm just going to tell you where there would be a slash scene and leave the rest to your imaginations! :p and also, towards the end of the story (if I ever get that far) there will be mpreg...just thought I'd warn you in advance! Anyway...enjoy and as always feedback is appreciated!

**Disclaimer; **I don't own Harry Potter - if I did you would know!

**Harry's POV**

That night, we just sat and chatted, Charlie and I. Nothing special, but I enjoyed it. It didn't feel awkward or forced, and although Charlie was still acting a bit strangely I still think he had a good time as well. Just before I made my way to bed, when I turned to face him just before I left to say good night, our eyes met and felt as if I couldn't move. His eyes...cerulean blue, with flecks of green, held me there, locking our gazes together. We stayed there for what could be hours but was probably only seconds. And then he broke eye contact and looked away. In the light of the smouldering fire I couldn't exactly tell, but I thought he was blushing. Awkwardly, I left the room without saying anything, unwilling to have to admit how much just looking into his eyes to affected me. Weird, because I'd never had that reaction to Charlie, or any other guy for that matter, before. But it didn't feel weird, it felt right, like I was supposed to be there, making awkward eye contact with a guy whose siblings I though of as family.

Collapsing on my bed, I put my face in my hands. I had to work this out. Charlie spends the day acting weird and awkward - blushing, not meeting my eyes and avoiding contact. And then he looks at me and I feel like I'm on fire, and all coherent thought is lost, and from the looks of it Charlie had felt the same way. I'm not stupid, I knew the signs of a crush, but I hadn't paid any attention to it because after all...I thought of his brothers as brothers, and he was ten years older than me! Although, Bill was nearly twelve years Draco's senior, and they were undeniably cute together, and good for eachother. But I there was not reason, really, for Charlie not to have a crush on me, I figured, besides the way I looked. Charlie was...tall and broad shouldered, tanned, his slightly long hair a gourgeous shade of auburn (gourgeous...where had that come from?!) and his eyes. Oh, his eyes. And then him, short, skinny and scarred. I seemed to have conveniently forgotten Charlie's multitude of burn scars in my self wallowing but oh well...anyway the point is - why would someone like him want to date someone like me? _Not that you would be adverse to the idea..._a part of my brain supplied, and I couldn't bring myself to disagree - I wouldn't be...which meant...Oh God...Ginny was right.

This could not be happening. Not now. Having broken up with Ginny a while ago, I hadn't really dated anyone else. I'd convinced myself that the reason for our breakup was the war - it was far too dangerous to bring her further into than she already would be. But she had other ideas...convinced I was in the closet for ages (apparently) she wasn't shocked or upset, she actually seemed happy in her delusion that I was gay. I, of course, denied it vehemently, but now all her 'proof' came rushing back. Apparently, I was far too interested in Malfoy to be completley straight (I still maintain that it was always because we were arch-enemies...), and I also supposedly never reciprocated any girls advances with enough enthusiasm. I didn't believe her...but now I was wondering. Ok, not wondering. Pretty damn convinced. Convinced that I was gay. And also pretty sure I had a teeny, tiny, minute crush on Charlie Weasley. Well, I thought (semi sarcastically), drifting into sleep, things can only go up from here...

**Charlie's POV**

Oh Christ. When our eyes met I thought I was going to melt into a pool of hormonal goo. I hadn't felt like this since I was a teenager! Dragon keeping didn't really leave much time for relationships and my string of one night stands were fuelled by alcohol on my nights off...this was something else. His green eyes reflected the firelight and were lit within with something I wasn't sure I recognised. My brain was stuck, running over the same thoughts again...again. _He's beautiful...No! I can't kiss him - it'd scare him off...but he's so beautiful_...I forced myself to look away, sure that otherwise, I wouldn't be able to stop myself snogging him senseless. I felt myself blush at the thought. Harry shuffled awkwardly before leaving without a word. I was convinced that Harry had worked out my feelings, he was probably packing now. I dropped my head into my hands. God, this was a nightmare. Dragging myself to bed, I lay, staring at the ceiling, thinking about Harry. The age gap was ludicrous! What was I thinking...a ten year age gap was not good. Not at all. _But what about Bill and Draco?_ My brain supplied. That was a bigger gap - almost twelve years between the two of them and yet they were in a happy, (mostly) stable relationship, and had been for quite a while. Ok, maybe it's not so strange, I thought. My biggest fear alleviated, I drifted quickly into sleep. That night my dreams were filled with emerald green eyes and raven black hair.

**Harry's POV**

The next morning I forced myself to be nonchalant, despite my revelation. It was difficult, it seemed all I could think about was Charlie. He hair, mussed with sleep, and his bleary blue eyes. Oh...he wasn't wearing a shirt. Although, I realised, neither was I. Oops, I blushed. Looking back up my breath caught in my throat...he was beautiful, and I didn't know how to act. I found myself staring at him with alarming regularity, and forced myself to stop - I couldn't have him working me out! I mean, maybe I was wrong about him liking me, and that could only end badly. No, I had decided last night...I would observe for a while longer, and try to ascertain Charlie's feelings towards me before even thinking about doing anything else. It could only end badly otherwise.

That day, Charlie gave me a tour of the reserve. I saw so many breeds of dragons - some I was familiar with, like the Hungarian Horntails - and others I wasn't, such as the Romanian Longhorn. The scenery was lush and green, and the area so vast even the largest of dragons were dwarfed by the expanse of land surrounding them. I was so in awe of what I was seeing, I didn't have much time to stare at Charlie. Not much, but some. The landscape didn't seem to affect him in the way it did me, although I supposed living there for so long would do that. His eyes did light up however when he looked at the dragons. It was obvious how much he cared for them - his eyes shone with a sapphire warmth which I could almost feel. Sometimes, when I was admiring the landscape, I was sure I could feel Charlie's eyes on me, burning a hole in my shirt, but I couldn't look around and alert him to my knowledge. During the course of the day I became more and more sure Charlie felt the same way as me, the frequency of stares was increasing and becoming hard to ignore. Walking back to the cottage our casual banter turned to my relationship with Ginny. When he asked me why we broke up I gave my usual response of "it was too dangerous". For some reason, this made Charlie laugh. When I looked confused he said, still laughing,

"That's not what Ginny said..." I sighed angrily. Charlie's expression softened,

"Hey, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend you or anything...I was just wondering, how long have you known...you know?" He sounded so genuinly upset at the idea of me being angry at him that those feelings immediatly evaporated.

"No, I was being stupid...It's just it's a kind of touchy subject recently. But not that long at all really..." I replied, murmering under my breath, "Since last night to be exact". I thought only I had been able to hear it but it turned out I was wrong. His eyes met mine and I felt the same electric jolt as the night before. He grinned at me, his eyes filled with warmth, and I automatically smiled in response. For a second, I thought Charlie was going to kiss me, he began to lean forward ever so slightly before turning and entering his home looking almost apologetic.

**Charlie's POV**

Walking into the kitchen the next and was met by a truly gorgeous sight. Harry was sitting at the table, shirtless, eating breakfast. This is something I could get used to, I thought. I walked in and Harry looked up at me, down at his chest and blushed. I stifled a laugh - his face was comical yet adorable. When he looked back up I grinned slightly before sitting down. Throughout the meal I felt him staring at me. I never met his eyes, knowing it would make him awkward. The issue I had was that those stares could be prompted by two things. Either, he had figured me out, and was staring because he thought it was weird. Or, he fancied me as well. However, I had no way of knowing which option it was, probably the former, the most pessimistic part of my brain thought, and acting as if it was the latter when it wasn't could be disasterous. No, I concluded, I would have to watch him for a while to work out what he was feeling before acting on my feelings.

We took a walk around the reserve for the majority of the day. As the landscape didn't interest me, I turned my eyes to something that did. At points my stare became so intense I was sure that Harry should be able to feel it, but he never looked around. Every now and again we spotted some dragons and I think they were the only times I looked away from Harry the entire time. I love dragons, I always have, and despite my brothers' jokes that the reason I've never had a proper relationship is that the dragons fill that spot, as of late I'd been feeling that perhaps dragons weren't everything. However much I loved my job there were so many disadvantages and the presense of the reptiles didn't alleviate the need for human contact, and my collegues weren't always the best company. When I was watching them fly, my eyes, as always, filled with awe, I sometimes thought I felt Harry's eyes on me, but I was never sure. He always looked slightly abashed when I turned around again though, so maybe I was right. By the end of our tour, I was no more sure than that morning in relation to Harry's feelings. In a last desperate push to gain more information, I managed to steer the conversation towards his breakup with Ginny. Maybe he'd admit that her ideas were right...

"So...why'd you break up with Ginny? I never really understood..." I asked, trying to sound casual. His responsed genuinly made me laugh. He sounded so much like he was trying to convinced himself it was true I was certain he was lying. His look of confusion set me off even more but I managed to splutter out that that wasn't what Ginny said inbetween peals of laughter. At his angry huff I immediatly stopped however. I hadn't meant to offend him, and the idea of him being upset made me need to comfort him.

"Hey, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend you or anything...I was just wondering, how long have you known...you know?" I knew it sounded stupid but I needed to find out! His reply was nothing too shocking - I knew firsthand how difficult it was to accept such a change in your life, but the muttered comment, presumably only meant for his ears, made me want to dance right there. If he had only accepted his sexuality last night then that meant...I was so happy! Finally, my prying had paid off and I knew that Harry felt the same way as me! I met his eyes, and there was that same feeling of being unable to move, and again, I lost all coherent thought. I wanted to kiss him so badly, but my desire not to scare him off won out and I turned and entered my - our - home.


	5. Chapter 5

**The Road to Recovery Chapter 5**

**A/N **Not much to say, just that there will probably be some implied slash this chapter :) just the usual thanks for all your reviews 3 and enjoy reading!

**Disclaimer; **I own nothing :(

**Charlie's POV**

The rest of the evening passed as normal, minus a few more 'almost kissing' incidents. It was getting to the point where it seemed my only options seemed to be giving in and kissing him or giving up and going to bed. I did perservere however, as I was enjoying Harry's company and I didn't want him to think something was wrong. I was beginning to get very flustered by my lack of control - not something I was known for - when the twins arrived, panicked and urgent.

"Dumbledore...", "...turned up...", "...everyone out...", "...GONE!"

I immediatly stood up to find some Calming Draught - the twins obviously needed it and we weren't going to get any information out of them in this state. Once they had drunk the lavender liquid they visibly relaxed and were able to tell us exactly what had happened. It wasn't what I was expecting. At all. We had known that Dumbledore was likley to cause problems - he evidently had a reason for keeping Harry at his relatives house (Sirius and Remus said they were working on finding it) and probably wouldn't be happy when information about Harry's whereabouts wasn't forthcoming, but I didn't think he would do anything as drastic as to kidnap people who would either know information, or were important to others who would. He'd taken Hermione, Angelina and Ginny. It explained the Twins panic, they'd always been close to Ginny, and no would be calm if their girlfriend had been kidnapped. I think Harry was in shock, he just sat there and started at the twins, whilst I asked more questions. Suddenly his head drooped and he seemed to curl in on himself. I was worried that Harry would be thinking something stupid, like that somehow this was his fault, and I was right. His emerald eyes were sparkling with tears and I resisted the urge to kiss away the few that had spilled onto his cheeks. Waving the twins away with a flick of my hand and reassurances that I would be there to help as soon as possible, I put my arm around Harry's narrow shoulders, pulling him close to my chest. He flinched and I let him pull away slightly, but only far enough that he seemed reassured. After murmering reassurances for a few minutes, the shaking in Harry's shoulders decreased and I gained my proof that I was right about Harry blaming himself.

"It's all my fault...if I hadn't..." Here I cut him off, and, glaring slightly began my speech as to why it wasn't his fault. Harry tried to interrupt (far too many times in my opinion) but I managed to quell him with a glare. Once I was finished (it did take a while) he was staring at me in much the same way I was sure I had been staring at him earlier in the day.

"I...don't...thank you" he murmed eyes glued to mine.

"It's alright...I hate thinking that..." I trailed off as his face move closer to mine, close enough that I was going cross eyed trying to focus on him.

"Harry, we can't..." I protested weakly, mainly thinking of the age gap, (I forgot about Bill and Draco's even larger age gap in my desire to not look bad to the rest of the world). Unfortunately, Harry hadn't and he protested on those grounds.

"There's no other good reason why we can't, I'm legal", (just about, I thought), "and there's nothing else to it!" As I went to answer Harry leant forwards the final distance and kissed me. I didn't know what to do - I obviously liked him, a lot, and yet I was still so concious of how everyone else would react. Eventually, I gave up my internal argument and kissed back, only pulling away when I remembered the situation back in England. I was dazed, and Harry looked the same but upon my reminder of how I had to leave to go and help his eyes became sharp,

"Ok, where's the apparition point?" Harry asked. I tried to explain that it was too dangerous, that Dumbledore would do anything, quite obviously, to find him, but he insisted that he wouldn't be left in the dark about this, reminding me that that was a Dumbledore technique. At that I gave in and applied a Disillusionment Charm, as protection, before we walked to the main block to apparate. This time, Harry wasn't admiring the views and I knew he was worried about the others, and probably still partially blaming himself. I stopped and turned him around by his shoulders. Shaking them slightly, shocked by how bony they were, I emphasised my belief that none of this was his fault. I stopped quickly though, worried by the undisguised fear in his eyes. Harry was scared of me? Or was it something else? I had no idea, but I wanted to reassure him that everything was going to be ok. Not being someone who is great with words, I settled for a gentle kiss on the corner of his mouth and what I hoped was a concerned but reassuring smile. It made him blush slightly and he looked away, but he was smiling, so I was appeased.

Upon reaching the Twins flat above their store, which was where the girls were taken from, I found a bunch of panicking Weasley's, with the occasional dot of other coloured hair among the sea of red. I quickly located Bill, who looked both pleased and upset. I figured the upset was probably (hopefully) in relation to our sister and maybe-future-sisters-in-law's disappearance, but I had no idea what he would be pleased about. When we (although it looked like just me) reached my elder brother, he immediatly turned to me.

"Ah, thank God you're here, everyone's freaking out, and I look so odd because I'm really happy as well as worried at the same time! I need to tell someone the good news who already knows part of it and I know will be happy for me too!" Bill blurted before I had even greeted him.

"Good news?" I questioned, running through possiblities in my head. When Bill revealed that Lucius Malfoy had finally been captured and put in Azkaban, meaning Draco and Narcissa could come out of hiding, I realised why Bill was so pleased. For nearly two years, Bill had had to hide his relationship, and just when they were about to reveal it to everyone who didn't already know (it was only Harry, Narcissa and I who did) his boyfriend had to go into hiding because of his role as a spy in the war. I knew, despite their contrasting personalities and the occasional heated argument the two were perfect together and I congratulated Bill and asked him to send my regards to the Malfoy's. I had completley forgotten about Harry until I felt him stomp on my foot to get my attention.

"Oops Harry, sorry..."

"You should be! Anyway, maybe we should go and find out what's happening...?" Bill, who had worked out what was happening when I said Harry's name, laughed and held his hand out for a (mostly) invisible Harry to shake. We walked over towards the large group of people to find out the plan of action concerning finding the girls and what to do about Dumbledore...

**A/N **I'm sorry it's short but I'm losing my incentive to write this pairing a bit (after reading an amazing Harry/Theo fic - Redemption by KingDemon if you want to check it out)...I will continue but updates might be a bit slow :/, sorry...


End file.
